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Creepy IRS Tax Scam Victimizing Local Taxpayers

Know this: that the IRS will never contact you by the phone or through email. Elizabeth Copeland of Strasburger Price law firm says she's had clients call because of imposters claiming to be the IRS, calling on the phone.

"I have had two clients call in a panic saying people acting as the Department of Legal Affairs telling them that they would arrest them in an hour if they did not pay their tax debt."

The way the scam works: a person gets a phone call from a person who claims to be an IRS enforcement agent. The caller ID is manipulated in a process known as 'Caller ID spoofing' to actually display the legitimate number of the IRS, and frequently recorded noise is piped in to make it sound like the caller is at an actual call center.

The sammer tells the targets over the phone that they own money to the IRS and demands payment fia a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer, sometimes even warning that the person will be 'arrested in thirty minutes' unless payment is made.

Copeland says first off, if the tax collecting agency really plans to arrest you, they'll just come and get you in person.

"On rare occasion, if there is a crime involved, you will get an actual visit from an IRS Criminal Investigation Division officer."

She says neither does the agencyuse email to contact people. Legitimate contact is done only through the mail.

"Their website lists the phone numbers that they use to call and ask if there is any tax liability owed."

Sometimes the scammer tells the victim that they wil be deported if the don't pay up. The IRS doesn't handle immigration issues. Callers have also warned that medical, law, and other licenses will be revoked, again, sometimes within thirty minutes, giving the scam a sense of urgency.